1. Field of Invention
This disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for maximizing the size of a video that is displayed in a video player.
2. Description of the Related Art
Users of online video services view videos on web-based applications, video players, or applications on mobile devices. Each video has an aspect ratio that defines the ratio of height to width of the video at which it should be viewed. Video players or video playing services, such as Vimeo or iTunes, typically provide a default or fixed video display area, the aspect ratio of which does not always match the aspect ratio of the video being shown. If the video player is enlarged or reduced in size by a user or the application, the video is resized to fit within the display area of the video player, while maintaining the aspect ratio of the video.
Conventional video players include a control panel in the display area for controlling the playback of the video, such as start, pause, skip forward and backward. The controls can be part of a fixed panel in the video display, and in some video players, the control panel is automatically, selectively displayed or hidden based on a user's interactions, such as movement of a cursor or indicator over a designated control panel display area. One problem with this approach to automatically hiding or displaying the controls is that the size of the video is often reduced in order to accommodate the display of the control panel, since the control panel takes up some of the available display area. A reduction in the size of the video can leave unused space on either side of the display area, if the player attempts to preserve the aspect ratio of the video, essentially wasting usable display space. Also the reduction in the size of the video typically makes the viewing experience less enjoyable to the user. In some video players, the control panel covers up part of the video, such as the bottom portion of the video, and this reduces the viewable portion of the video. Current systems do not correlate the display of the control panel with the size of the video within the video player.